


Atlas

by MayQueen517



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friendship, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Breach, Threesome, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 21:13:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayQueen517/pseuds/MayQueen517
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The answer falls into place as easily as nodding and smiling slowly, though. She doesn't know where it will end up but she knows the curve of Alison's smile matches her own and Tendo's fingers have stilled finally and it's enough for now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atlas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VerboseWordsmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerboseWordsmith/gifts).



> This is a gift fic that is LONG, LONG, LONG overdue for the amazing verbosewordsmith. It is part Christmas gift and part thank you because without a doubt, they have made my work so much better. Merry Christmas! <3
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks go out to saellys for the help and wonderful encouragement!
> 
> **I know that in the novelization and such, Tendo and Alison have a son but I had such a clear idea of their daughter Elisa that I just couldn't leave it.**
> 
> (Title from the Coldplay song of the same name.)

It all starts with a conversation. 

"So, Mako," Alison says, holding onto Tendo's hand as she leans onto the table in their quarters. There's a schematic spread across it from where she was listening to Alison discuss the plasma cannons on Lady Danger before. Mako blinks up at Alison, waiting.

"Tendo and I thought you should know that we have an open marriage," Alison says, point-blank, smiling gently to take away the blunt edge of her voice. Mako blinks at them both, watching Alison and Tendo both begin to fidget as the silence draws on.

"Oh," she says, clearing her throat as she puts the pencil down, looking across at both of them. She's heard the rumors about them both, about their relationship that was never any of her business until, it seems, now. "that's, ah, very nice?" she hazards as Alison laughs softly, Tendo's grin turning sheepish.

"We wanted you to know," Tendo says, stressing 'you' as he meets her eyes. It dawns on her suddenly, like figuring out the answer to one of Doctor Gottlieb's equations on her own. She stares at them both, watching Alison's calm smile and Tendo's nervous fidgeting.

The answer falls into place as easily as nodding and smiling slowly, though. She doesn't know where it will end up but she knows the curve of Alison's smile matches her own and Tendo's fingers have stilled finally and it's enough for now.

===  
The first time Mako kisses Tendo, it is a week before everyone is slated to come to Hong Kong. Sensei is busier than she's ever seen him and Tendo is more often found in a hidden alcove of the Shatterdome, nervously picking at the nicotine patch on his arm. It has been four months since she saw him last.

She steps out and stands beside him under the overhang that saves them from getting drenched in the torrential downpour.

"Well if it isn't Ms. Mori," Tendo says with a smile, shifting so that they can close the door. The lights of Kowloon are slowly lighting the sky and Mako watches for a minute as she smiles at Tendo.

"How have you been?" she asks as he hums lightly.

"Just fine," he says with a smile that's tight and she wonders what his face would show if she could see it better, "And how is the Lady doing?" he asks as Mako finds herself smiling brightly. 

"Perfect," Mako says with relish, "as always."

Tendo laughs, shifting from his spot as she leans against the door. Their arms touch and she leans a little closer to impulsively press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He startles as she pulls back, cheeks flushing as he blinks. 

"Well, then," he says, warmth flooding his voice, "what did I do to deserve that, Ms. Mori?"

"You seemed like you needed it," she says simply as he chuckles, leaning closer to wrap his arm around her. It's been four months since she sat with Tendo and Alison, since she let them wrap around her and hug her close. She leans against him, sliding her arm around his waist as she peers at him, smiling when he catches her.

"I did, huh?" he asks, voice quiet. She nods, droplets of water blowing back on them as one of the Sikorsky helicopters comes in to land not far off. Mako leans up in the noise, pressing their lips together firmly, sighing when Tendo shifts and leans into her. 

They stand like that, kissing quietly and for a moment, Mako can't hear anything but the whistle of someone's nostril and the soft rustle of clothing. Tendo pulls back, smiling at her with the side of his face lit up from city and everything going on around them. He presses a light kiss to her lips again, tucking his arm back around her firmly.

"Perhaps I did," he says, smiling.

===

A month after Operation Pitfall is a success (and at what cost is that? She finds herself unable to stop thinking about it sometimes), Mako finds that her room is too quiet, Raleigh is all at once too calm and too loud, and nowhere seems to be safe from her bad mood.

She wanders the hallways of the Shatterdome, one of Raleigh's sweaters pulled around her less for warmth and more for comfort. Most everyone is sleeping or getting ready for a new shift, nodding to her with a polite smile as she wiggles her fingers at some.

Mako finds herself walking in circles a few times before she turns left down another hallway. She hears music coming from one of the rooms and smiles to herself, already knowing who it is. 

Alison had arrived in Hong Kong with her and Tendo's daughter in tow, Elisa who was the happiest child Mako had ever seen. Elisa who Alison would strap to her chest and get back to work like it was nothing. 

Mako stands at the door, listening to the laughter and music and it feels, for lack of a better word - warm. It reminds her of Aleksis and Sasha's quarters; always welcoming and full of comfort if that's what she needed. She hesitates before knocking, three quick raps that leave her knuckles smarting just so as she hears Elisa inside. 

The door opens just as she's ready to walk off, the warm light spilling into the hallway, Tendo's bright grin shining even as he holds onto Elisa. 

"Mako," Tendo says happily as Alison pokes her head around, hair twisted into a towel, cheeks pink from a shower, Mako assumes.

"Hi," she says, feeling awkward and off-balance as Tendo steps back, into Alison who presses a kiss to his shoulder, smiling at Mako.

"Mako, come in," Alison says, pushing the door back so that Mako can step through. Their quarters aren't much different than her own, perhaps a little more cluttered, but it feels far more welcoming than her own. 

"How are you?" Mako asks Alison, watching Elisa pull Tendo's bow-tie apart gently. Tendo watches her with a besotted expression and it makes Mako hug Raleigh's sweater around herself a little more firmly.

"I'm good. Glad to be back. You don't seem good though," Alison says bluntly as Tendo snorts and Mako laughs roughly. 

"You couldn't have low-balled that one?" Tendo asks, arching an eyebrow at her. Alison shrugs and flashes a grin.

"Mako knows me well enough by now, right Mako?"

"I suppose. And I'm just. It's been a month," she says, feeling as fragmented as her speech. Alison hums and takes her hair down from the towel, shocking red like it was when Mako first met her. She combs through it with her fingers and holds the towel up, looking to Tendo.

"Trade me and go shower while we talk," Alison says, pressing a firm kiss to Tendo's lips. Mako sits on the edge of the bed, watching Alison and Tendo trade Elisa between them, Tendo walking off to the tiny bathroom. Alison puts Elisa down, shutting the door completely and tossing the latch.

Mako watches quietly before Alison slides onto the bed, scooting back and urging Mako to do the same.

"Talk to me," Alison says, watching Mako. Mako shakes her head, clearing her throat roughly, watching Elisa flop down and start stacking blocks. Mako's throat closes for a moment as she looks over at Alison.

"I feel like I have nothing better to do than give interviews," Mako says finally, looking down at her hands as Alison hums softly to her left, "I keep thinking I can just go down to Lady's bay and work on her some, clear my head, but she's not there."

"Christ, I know. I took Elisa down to the floor today and it was just. So strange."

"They're bringing in pieces of Cherno and Crimson tomorrow," Mako says, throat closing again as she swallows past the knot, eyes burning for a moment as she breathes carefully. Elisa looks up at them, holding out a block as Mako takes it, smiling at her.

"Mako," Elisa says, nodding to herself as she grabs another block, handing it off to Alison, apparently pleased with herself. Alison huffs out a soft laugh, putting their blocks together, fidgeting. She reaches out and squeezes Mako's hand.

"We'll go stand with you, yeah?"

"Oh, you don't have-"

"Hush. That wasn't a question," Alison says, watching her. Mako shakes her head, laughing softly as Alison shifts closer. There's a moment where Mako could move, could change the outcome of this; instead, Mako leans in, pressing their lips together gently. Alison sighs softly, taking her time and Mako takes whatever comfort she can for it. 

Alison is warm and smells like something mildly floral and still a bit like grease like always. Warmth slides through her limbs as she presses closer, licking into her mouth slowly. Alison hums quietly, pulling back to press a kiss to Mako's cheek.

"We'll get you through it, hon," Alison says as Mako leans against her, watching Elisa play until Tendo comes out of the shower.

===

They get her through it, warmth at her back as they stand side by side, Elisa curled up in Tendo's arms. Raleigh stands beside her, not holding her hand; rather, he holds her bag and clipboard as she strides out to greet and thank the retrieval crews. Mako learned from watching Sensei take the time to thank each and every person he interacted with and she can feel the weight of everyone's eyes on her as she smiles to the crews.

"It was our pleasure, Ms. Mori," one of them says, an older man that Mako has seen countless times since Sensei brought her to Shatterdome after Shatterdome. She can't recall his name and she knows that Sensei would have but she is not her Sensei and that, for the moment, is alright.

"Mako, please," she says, holding onto his hand as his smile broadens and warms. She remembers being a young girl, following Sensei around the bays and watching engineers and techs work. This time, she is on the ground but she has been in one of them, putting hers and Raleigh's lives into the hands of the people who knew those machines better than both of them.

"Call me Mike, then," he says and she remembers him suddenly, a man who handed her a wrench and pointed to some bolts, urging her to figure them out. She smiles slowly at the memory and nods to him, getting one in return. She shakes their hands and exchanges words with some of them, spending a few extra minutes with the lead engineer for both Cherno and Crimson's teams. They hold onto her hands, looking up at the wreckage and sometimes she finds herself murmuring comfort in Russian or Chinese. 

She hears Herc - Marshall Hansen, she thinks with a sad sort of amusement - talking to some of the other crews and as she walks back to Tendo, Alison, and Raleigh, she catches his eyes. He smiles at her with something approaching pride and it makes her chest ache as she smiles back. She looks at the three adults and Elisa, now in Raleigh's arms, casually poking at his face.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Alison says, watching her face as Tendo hums beside her, looking over the wreckage, a calculating expression already settling onto his face. It reminds Mako of working on Lady Danger, of before and of now as Raleigh tucks an arm around her in comfort.

"There is always work ahead of us," Mako murmurs as Tendo catches her eye and smiles. She returns it as Raleigh shifts Elisa on his hip a little more firmly, pressing a quick, easy kiss to Mako's hair.

"I'm gonna go bug the Marshall with this one; meet up for dinner?" he asks, looking at her as he gives her a smile that she's seen in memories that aren't hers. A conspiratorial sort of smile, one that leaves her leaning into his side for a moment, the softness of his sweater broken up only by Elisa's curious hand on her face. Mako pretends to bite at it, hearing Elisa's delighted laughter as she nods to Raleigh.

"Sure," she says, watching him hoist Elisa on his shoulders, bounding over to Herc with Elisa's hands tangled in his hair and Herc feigns surprise just like he always does with Elisa. It makes Mako smile as Alison tugs her back, making her laugh softly.

"C'mon," Alison says, hand slipping beneath her cardigan and t-shirt to rest against the skin of Mako's back. Mako shivers, looking over to her and Tendo with a slow smile, "I hear tell that Tendo managed to nab himself a half-decent bottle of wine."

"I'll have you know it's more than half-decent, Mrs. Choi."

"Oh, more than half-decent, Mr. Choi," Alison says, teasing Tendo as she winks at Mako, "Well, aren't we just the lucky ones, Ms. Mori?"

Mako finds herself laughing at their antics, at the warmth in Tendo's eyes as he watches her. Mako threads her arms through each of theirs, putting herself in the middle before she lets them lead her back to their quarters. The walk isn't long, a few turns away from the elevator as Tendo pushes the door open.

She pulls them both to her once the door shuts, pressing kisses to chapped lips, to lips that taste of lipstick, to a stubbled jaw and one that smells distinctly of engine grease and jasmine. Mako watches Tendo pull Alison in for a kiss, lingering over her lips with the slightly smeared red as heat floods her belly. Mako reaches up, gently pulling Tendo's bow-tie loose as he hums in response, a grin pulling him away from Alison as she laughs; throaty and husky, leaving Mako helpless to do anything but chase the taste of Tendo from her lips.

Alison groans, fitting her hands under Mako's shirt, rough and cool, it makes her shiver even as she returns the favor. Mako pulls back, breathing hard as Alison's smeared lipstick has both Mako and Tendo making a noise. Mako blinks over at Tendo as he looks at her and she can't help laughing. She buries her head into Alison's neck, laughing harder as Tendo tosses his bow-tie at them, grinning. 

"I swear, the two of you," Alison says, digging her fingers into Mako's ribs, laughing as Mako swats her at her hands, "I'm cleaning this off," she says, biting at Tendo's hand when he reaches up to push some of her hair back. Mako hums quietly, sliding her hand over to Tendo's hip, hooking her fingers around one of the straps of his suspenders.

She loses herself to them, trading kisses back and forth, watching Alison's lipstick wear off between the kisses, knowing that she's got some of it on her face just like Tendo. They undress each other, stumbling as Mako's legs get caught up in her pants, leaving her breathless with laughter. 

Alison grins at her, pushing her down to the bed easily. Mako laughs, nipping at the skin of Alison's wrist lightly at the line of ink that trails up her forearm. Laughing, Alison skims her hand down Mako's front as Tendo crawls onto the bed, watching the two of them with an undoubtedly fond smile.

"Mako," Tendo says softly, leaning over to kiss her. It feels like the first time she kissed him, warm and lazy, even with Alison pressed against them both. Mako curls her around around Tendo's dick, feeling him groan before she hears him. Alison's hand meets hers as they trade strokes, tangling together as Tendo's head falls back. 

"Jesus Christ," he says, arching into them as Alison laughs, pressing a hard kiss against Mako's lips. Mako moans into it, eagerly kissing back, hand falling to Tendo's thigh; she thinks to what they must look like, her and Alison curled into each other. She thinks of the smeared red lipstick over Alison and Tendo's mouths and moans again, kissing Alison harder.

Tendo groans and thrusts his hips eagerly as Alison moans, jostling them both as Mako yelps, grabbing onto Alison to avoid toppling to the floor. Mako and Alison stare at Tendo who's gone bright red, trying not to laugh.

"You're such an asshole, Tendo," Alison says, laughter threatening her voice as she curls her arms around Mako. Warm skin lines up against her back and Mako starts laughing as Tendo holds his hands up in surrender, laughing finally.

"It was an honest mistake! Besides, it's not as bad as that time I almost dropped you."

"You dropped her?" Mako asks, laughing as Tendo rolls over, attempting to bury his face in the pillows.

"Almost! Almost dropped her!" he says, muffled into the pillows as Mako feels Alison laughing silently against her. 

"My suspenders got hung on the desk and she was squirming, rather nicely, I might add and -"

"You almost dropped me," Alison finishes for him as she slides a hand along his back. Tendo turns his head to the side, grinning at her over his shoulder as Mako leans down away from Alison to press her lips to Tendo's.

"I think we'll keep you on your back so you don't risk it again," she teases as Tendo's eyes darken and Alison grins at her wickedly. 

"My back, huh?"

"Mmhm," Mako says, leaning down to kiss him hard as he rolls over. He takes her with him, groaning into her mouth and nipping at her lips. Mako moans at the feeling of Alison's hands sliding along her back and across the curve of her ass. Tendo kisses her harder, turning into her even as his hands meet Alison's, dipping between her legs to wring a surprised groan from Mako's lips. Their fingers slide along her thighs, pressing into her side by side as she shudders. 

She kisses Tendo sloppily, rocking her hips into their fingers and her entire body feels too hot and too cold all at once. Mako can feel the heat of her belly building and her hips are jerking as she sinks her teeth into Tendo's shoulder, moaning loudly as she comes suddenly. It's like the first time she drifted, taking all the air out of her body, slotting into place like it should have always been. Mako relaxes for a moment and then Alison crooks her fingers suddenly, making Mako arch hard against Tendo. Shuddering, her hand twists in the sheets beside Tendo. She lets go of his shoulder to cry out, gasping for air as Alison laughs softly, easing her down to the bed. Tendo slides his hand around to her hip, holding her close as he buries his face into her hair, laughing warmly. He peppers soft, easy kisses along her neck and chin while Alison leans up against her.

They stay like that for a moment, Alison trading soft kisses with Tendo, full of love and happiness as Mako shifts to watch them. She feels warm and content, letting them pull her into kisses, losing track of who's who for a long moment.

Tendo hums quietly, pulling back to lean his head back against the pillow. His hair is messed up, sticking up at odd points and the pompadour from the front is rather flat now as Mako finds herself grinning. She reaches up, touching his hair lightly, feeling the gel in place as he winks at her.

"So what was this about keeping me on my back?" Tendo asks as Alison laughs, wrapping her arms around Mako from behind. Mako laughs with her, falling into the two of them and losing herself to warm skin and soft lips.

===

Cartoons wake her up, strangely. She opens her eyes slowly, yawning widely as she shifts back into Tendo for a moment. He grumbles, burying his face into her neck, snorting. She's on her back, one of Alison's shirts riding up her torso and a pair of Tendo's boxers tangled around her hips. To her left, Elisa's curled up between Mako and Alison, watching some cartoon raptly.

She hears the dialogue and laughs quietly, catching Alison's sleepy eyes.

" _Sailor Moon_?"

"Have to get her started on the best. Morning," Alison says, smiling lazily in a way that makes Mako's belly warm. Elisa looks over to Mako, eyes lighting up under sleep-mussed dark hair. She shifts until she's tucked against Mako's side, looking up at her.

"Mako," she proclaims as Alison huffs out a laugh, scooting closer to press a kiss first to Elisa's hair and then to Mako's lips gently.

"Yeah, Mako," Alison says, combing through Mako's hair lightly as Tendo presses his face into her neck, yawning in a rush of hot, damp hair. She shivers a little, feeling goosebumps pop up on her arm as she watches a bit of the old show. She wonders if Tendo got it from Newt like she had once upon a time. She smiles at the thought, thinking of Sensei drifting in and out, smiling at her warmly when he caught her eyes.

"You good?" Alison asks, tucking their heads together as she holds her hand behind the tablet for Elisa.

Mako hums happily, wiggling a little so that Tendo's arm slides across Elisa over to Alison, making them into a neat unit that leaves Mako feeling lighter than she's felt in years.

"I think so, yes," Mako says, hearing Tendo hum as Alison kisses her lightly. 

"Morning, ladies," Tendo says, drowsy and pleased as Elisa clambers over Mako's mid-section (Mako makes an "Oof!" sound when her knee presses into her stomach, Elisa's giggle the only acknowledgement of it) to settle on Mako's other side. Between Tendo and Mako, Elisa beams at them, seemingly happy. 

Mako grins at her, tickling her ribs to a loud cackle that sets them all off. Sighing happily, with _Sailor Moon_ in the background, Mako thinks it's the happiest she's been since the Breach closed. 

Later, she thinks, she'll find Raleigh and spend some time with him, but for now, she's quite content to stay where she's at.


End file.
